LAS VEGAS – Fans have pooh-poohed the matchup, and much of the media has written it off as meaningless.

Additionally, Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold hasn’t made it a secret that upcoming title challenger Keith Jardine wasn’t the high-profile opponent he hoped for. But that comes as no surprise to the challenger.

Rockhold (8-1 MMA, 7-0 SF) and Jardine (17-9-2 MMA, 0-0-1 SF) headline Saturday’s “Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine” event at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. The main card airs on Showtime (with prelims on Showtime Extreme) during the premium-cable channel’s “free-preview” weekend. It’s the first show since Showtime signed a new deal with the Zuffa-owned Strikeforce.

Rockhold, of course, was expected to fight top contender Tim Kennedy, but an injury scrapped those plans. Additionally, some wonder why Rockhold isn’t rematching former champ Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, who surrendered his belt to the current champ in a close September fight.

So Saturday’s fight ultimately went to Jardine, a cast member from “The Ultimate Fighter 2″ who’s faced a host of notables during a decade-long career. And though Jardine is 2-0-1 in his past three fights, including a recent draw with Gegard Mousasi in his Strikeforce debut, it’s hard to forget the preceding five-fight losing streak that cost him his UFC job.

Despite the hurdles, Jardine said he’s still a threat to Rockhold’s belt, and he believes the champ knows it.

“I’m a pretty scary fight for him because I don’t think – how I’d characterize it – Luke has never really been in a dirty fight,” he said. “He’s a real clean fighter. He likes to keep his distance and pick away at his opponents. But look at all my fights. You’re going to get tired, bloody and dirty. I’m going to turn it into a brawl, and it’s not a good matchup for him.”

For Jardine, a former light heavyweight who’s making his middleweight debut at the show, this fight is a sort of rebirth. Dropping a weight class (with help from nutritionist-to-the-stars Mike Dolce) was part of a plan for Jardine to rehaul his entire approach to the sport.

Early in his UFC career, Jardine defeated the likes of Forrest Griffin, Chuck Liddell and Brandon Vera. But then came the losing streak, and subsequently, a much-needed wake-up call in the minor leagues.

“I went to the bottom, man,” he said. “I remember fighting in the Dominican Republic in front of like a hundred people in a fight where no one got paid. It was just a mess. I think I hit rock bottom there. So to work my way back here, it’s a real blessing.”

Jardine uses that word – “blessing” – a lot in describing Saturday’s five-round fight. Soon after it was announced, he stayed offline. He knew fans would shred the matchup.

“I turned off Twitter,” he said. “I didn’t look up anything in the MMA media. I knew that negative energy would be there.”

What fans don’t see, Jardine believes, is that he isn’t being rewarded for a mere 0-0-1 record in Strikeforce. Instead, he’s being rewarded for his decade-long status as matchmakers’ go-to guy. He’s being rewarded for a body of work that shows – win or lose – he’s usually in compelling fights.

“I never say no to fights,” he said. “I always step up, and I think they kind of rewarded me for that.

“It’s about the past 10 years. It’s all about that.”

Now that Strikeforce and the UFC fall under the same ownership group, Jardine feels he’s back where he belongs. He’s fighting for MMA’s biggest company on national TV and in events where fighters actually, you know, get paid for it.

Throw in the new weight class and a chance to be a champion in a organization that signed a new Showtime broadcast deal, and Jardine couldn’t be happier.

“It’s like a brand new career for me and a brand new start,” he said. “This is a rebirth for me. I’m going to win the title on Saturday, and it’s real exciting to represent Strikeforce and the direction they’re going.”

As the UFC 189 tour made its last stop in Dublin, featherweight champ Jose Aldo was met with a torrent of abuse from the Irish fans. It might have been unpleasant, but it might also have been just what he needed.